U.S. patent number 7,100,822 [Application Number 10/472,451] was granted by the patent office on 2006-09-05 for lottery system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Cool 123 Limited. Invention is credited to James William Piper, Glen David Smith.
United States Patent |
7,100,822 |
Piper , et al. |
September 5, 2006 |
Lottery system
Abstract
A computer based lottery which allows entries to be sold over
the telephone, by ATM or POS machines, by email, or via kiosks, in
which participants are invited to choose at least one unique number
from a defined range of numbers, e.g. between one and one million
which hopefully no-one else has or will select before the end of
the competition. The participant can register their selection with
an entry-logging engine (which can be an automated call answering
system allowing the user to key in the number chosen by using the
telephone keypad). This records the identity or contact details of
the participant (for example telephone number or email address),
the number selected by the participant, and the date and time of
the entry, the entry-logging engine giving the participant an
optional receipt number.
Inventors: |
Piper; James William (Auckland,
NZ), Smith; Glen David (Auckland, NZ) |
Assignee: |
Cool 123 Limited (Auckland,
NZ)
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Family
ID: |
19928393 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/472,451 |
Filed: |
March 22, 2002 |
PCT
Filed: |
March 22, 2002 |
PCT No.: |
PCT/NZ02/00038 |
371(c)(1),(2),(4) Date: |
September 23, 2003 |
PCT
Pub. No.: |
WO02/077931 |
PCT
Pub. Date: |
October 03, 2002 |
Prior Publication Data
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|
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20040097283 A1 |
May 20, 2004 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
235/381;
235/487 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q
30/02 (20130101); G07C 15/00 (20130101); G07F
17/32 (20130101); G07F 17/3223 (20130101); G07F
17/3239 (20130101); G07F 17/3255 (20130101); G07F
17/3269 (20130101); G07F 17/3288 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
7/08 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;235/381,487
;463/16,17,26,43,15 ;273/269 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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WO 98/52660 |
|
Nov 1998 |
|
WO |
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WO 99/06128 |
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Feb 1999 |
|
WO |
|
Other References
http://www.centralconnector.com/GAMES/boggle.html--Boggle--Parker
Brothers--1973. cited by other .
http://zone.msn.com/boggle/start.asp?hb=f--Online boggle--Hasbro
Interactive--1998. cited by other.
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Primary Examiner: Le; Thien M.
Assistant Examiner: Koyama; Kumiko C.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Young & Thompson
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. A computerised lottery having at least one computer system for
recording entries and determining one or more winners, in which
participants are invited to select at least one number from a
defined range of n numbers, where n is a number, and to register
each participant's selection with the computer, the computer
recording at least an identity or contact details of the
participant and the number selected by the participant, rules of a
competition being such that participants are aware that the
competition will run until a winner is declared, but that more than
one selection of a same number by more than one participant or
entry will prevent said number from being chosen for a primary
prize without eliminating said number from future participant
selection, the competition running until either: (a) a defined time
has expired to determine one or more winners based on the
participants who had selected numbers that other participants had
not selected; or (b) until all but one of the numbers have been
selected two or more times, and only one number remains having been
selected by only one participant, with the one number remaining
that has been selected by only one participant being a final number
and being declared a winning number, and the participant having
chosen said winning number being identified as a winner.
2. The computerised lottery as claimed in claim 1, wherein a
registration process includes time and date recordal of each
entry.
3. The computerised lottery as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
computer system includes a transaction engine and a lottery
engine.
4. The computerised lottery as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
lottery engine is capable of maintaining (a) a register of all of
the possible numbers to be used in the defined lottery, and (b) a
record of the number of times each number is chosen; and the
lottery engine has means for identifying an outcome when only one
number remains having been selected by only one participant.
5. The computerised lottery as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
lottery engine includes at least one database.
6. The computerised lottery as claimed in claim 3, wherein the
transaction engine is separate from the lottery engine and passes
registered entries sequentially to the lottery engine.
7. The computerised lottery as claimed in claim 3, wherein an input
to the transaction engine receives remote entries from any one or
more of (a) a telephone keypad, or (b) an SMS message from a mobile
phone, or (c) an email, or (d) an entry direct to a website, or (e)
an entry at an ATM, or (f) an entry at a POS terminal, or (g) an
entry direct to a kiosk or computer terminal at a retail
outlet.
8. A computer program for conducting a lottery in which
participants are invited to select at least one number from a
defined range of n numbers, where n is a number, and to register
their selection with a computer running the program, the program
adapted to record at least an identity or contact details of the
participant and the number selected by the participant, and to
separately record a number of times each number within the range of
n numbers is chosen by participants, the program allowing a
competition to run until (i) all but one of the numbers have been
selected two or more times with numbers selected by participants
two or more times remaining eligible for additional participant
selection, and (ii) only one number remains having been selected by
only one participant with the one number being a final number and
being declared a winning number.
9. A method of conducting a lottery, in which participants are
invited to select at least one number from a defined range of
numbers between one and n, where n is a number, to register their
selection with a computer system, the computer system being capable
of recording at least an identity or contact details of the
participant, the number selected by the participant, and a date and
time of an entry, rules of a competition being such that
participants are aware that the competition will run until a winner
is declared, but that more than one selection of the same number by
more than one participant or entry will prevent said number from
being chosen as a primary prize without eliminating said number
from future participant selection, the competition running until
either a defined time has expired, or until all but one of the
numbers have been selected two or more times and only one number
remains having been selected by only one participant with said one
number being declared a winning number, and the participant having
chosen said winning number being identified as a winner.
10. A method of conducting a lottery comprising: a) selecting an
element from a predefined pool of elements, wherein selection of
the element does not eliminate the selected element from future
selection such that all the elements of the predefined pool of
elements are available for selection during the entire lottery; b)
registering the selection of the element; c) eliminating any
element selected more than once from eligibility as being
classified as a primary winning element; and d) continuing the
selecting and registering of elements until a predetermined event
occurs, wherein after the predetermined event occurs, elements
selected only once are classified as winning selections.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined event is a
passage of a preselected amount of time.
12. The method of claim 10, wherein after the predetermined event
occurs, elements are randomly selected until only one element
remains having been selected only once, the one element remaining
having been selected only once being identified as the primary
winning element.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined event is a
determination that only one element remains having been selected
only once.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein participants are invited to
make selections, wherein the participants are aware of only the
element selections made by that participant and are unaware of the
element selections made by other participants.
15. The method of claim 10, wherein prior to the occurrence of the
predetermined event, participants are invited to make selections of
the elements, and wherein after the occurrence of the predetermined
event, a computer is used to make random selections of the elements
until only one element remains that has been selected only once,
the element selected only once identified as the primary winning
element.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the predetermined event is a
passage of a preselected amount of time.
17. The method of claim 10, wherein registering the selection of
the element includes recording at least an identity or a contact
detail of an entity making the selection and the element selected
by that entity.
Description
FIELD
This invention relates to a gambling or promotion system enabling a
large number of players to participate, and in particular lends
itself to a game in which participants can enter by means of the
telephone, or by email.
BACKGROUND
Lotteries are used in gambling systems where participants pay to
enter or promotional systems where eligibility to enter is
associated with the purchase of goods or services.
Most games of chance involving large numbers of participants are
lotteries based on (a) sweepstakes, in which customers purchase
lottery tickets, or (b) variants of LOTTO or KENO, in which
customers either purchase a pre-allocated set of numbers, or
purchase a group of numbers chosen by them in each case purchasing
a ticket at a retail outlet. In some cases such purchases are
conducted by mail. In all cases the organiser of the lottery will
then select the winning numbers, in some form of random draw, which
is often televised.
One disadvantage of these systems is that customers need to go to
the retail out let to purchase the entrance ticket. Another
disadvantage is that customers are required to retain their
tickets, in order to redeem prizes if they believe they have won.
LOTTO allows customers to select different numbers but suffers from
the disadvantage that the prize pool may be shared between a number
of participants--it is the nature of LOTTO that it cannot guarantee
a single division one winner. Another disadvantage is the need to
ensure that the selection of the winning tickets/numbers is truly
random and is not subject to interference or fraud by any
party.
OBJECT
It is an object of this invention to provide a novel lottery
system, which makes it possible for customers to enter by means of
the telephone, or the Internet, or one which will at least provide
the public with a useful choice.
STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the invention provides a computerised lottery having
at least one computer system for recording entries and determining
one or more winners, in which participants are invited to select at
least one number from a defined range of n numbers, and to register
their selection with the computer, the computer being capable of
recording at least the identity or contact details of the
participant, the number selected by the participant, the rules of
the competition being such that participants are aware that the
competition will run until a winner is declared, but that more than
one selection of the same number by more than one participant or
entry will prevent that number from being chosen for a primary
prize, the competition running until either: (a) a defined time has
expired to determine one or more winners based on the participants
who had selected numbers that other participants had not selected;
or (b) until all but one of the numbers have been selected two or
more times, and only one number remains having been selected by
only one participant with that final number being declared the
number, and the participant having chosen that number being
notified as the winner.
In another aspect the invention provides a method of conducting a
lottery, in which participants are invited to select at least one
number from a defined range of numbers, for example between one and
n, to register their selection with a computer system, the computer
system being capable of recording at least the identity or contact
details of the participant, the number selected by the participant,
and preferably the date and time of the entry, the rules of the
competition being such that participants are aware that the
competition will run until a winner is declared, but that more than
one selection of the same number by more than one participant or
entry will prevent that number from being chosen as the primary
winning entry, the competition running until either a defined time
has expired, or more preferably until all but one of the numbers
have been selected two or more times, and only one number remains
having been selected by only one participant, with that final
number being declared the winning number, and the participant
having chosen that number being notified as the winner.
Preferably the computer system includes a transaction engine (i.e.
for entry logging) and a lottery engine. More preferably this
includes at least one database with each record having fields
containing (a) customer information, typically a telephone number
or credit card number, (b) the number chosen by the customer, (c) a
receipt number or PIN disclosed to the customer as proof of that
entry.
More preferably the lottery engine includes at least one database.
The database can contain n records with at least two fields per
record--a first field containing a number within the range (so that
the records can be sequential through the entire range of n numbers
for that competition), and a second numerical field capable of
recording the number of "hits" or number of times that number has
been selected.
The databases of the transaction engine and lottery engine can be
combined into a single database and operated within a single
computer but we believe that this may make it more vulnerable to
fraud.
Alternatively the lottery can be run using a spreadsheet instead of
separate databases, as we used a spreadsheet in our simulation of
the invention. Preferably the participant is allowed to enter their
own number by remote data entry such as by entering it on a
telephone key pad, by sending an SMS message, or email message
containing the number they have chosen. However, it is also
possible for the participant to allow the system to chose one or
more numbers at random, so that the participant could for example
select a "lucky dip" in which the system would select one or more
numbers at random and enter them into the competition for the
participant.
Preferably the registration process involves the participant paying
for their entry. However, in some lottery schemes, the entry may be
free, with a defined prize for the entry.
In its most preferred form the competition will run until there is
only one number remaining all other numbers in the set of n numbers
having been excluded by the lottery engine (a computer program
which preferably determines number matches, as numbers are
entered), and reducing the pool of potential winning numbers until
only a single number remains in that pool.
It will be appreciated that in some cases the competition may run
for a period of time, leaving a number of potential winning
numbers, and a number of "blank" numbers, i.e. potential members of
the set of n numbers which have not been chosen by anyone. In which
case the promoters of the competition may wish to close the
competition after a defined period of time, or after a defined
number of entries, and then analysing the results to determine if
there should be one or more first division winners, being
participants who have selected a number that has not been selected
by anyone else, and one or more second or third division winners
based on numbers that have been chosen by two or more
participants.
As will be appreciated from the examples, there are a number of
ways of operating such a lottery.
One of the advantages of this lottery system is that it can be
operated via the telephone, for example by utilising a 0900 number
ordering system. If, for example "n" is chosen as one million, then
the set of numbers consists of the digits from 1 to 1,000,000 (this
number range is purely arbitrary depending upon the size of the
competition and the potential prize pool) then the participant can
respond to an advertisement perhaps on television, on the radio, or
in the printed media, by calling a defined telephone number and
then at the prompt entering the number via a touch-tone keypad.
Alternatively the number could be entered using an interactive
voice recognition system, by speaking the number, and having the
computer, or a human operator, repeat the number back to the
participant. It is however preferred that the operation of the
system is fully computerised, and that either a touch-tone keypad
can be used, or an interactive voice recognition system be used
(IVR) as this enables the system to be readily scalable, and to
operate at relatively low cost (in terms of human operators) 24
hours a day.
Alternatively the system cam be operated via a message sent in many
ways including by mail, by fax, by email, by SMS or WAP, or by
logging into a server on the internet, by machine such as a gaming
machine, kiosk, lottery terminal, ATM or POS machine, or through a
registration process, or via telephone with participants having
pre-registered. In either of these cases the participants may have
purchased a number of potential entries in advance, or established
a credit balance with the operator, or may wish to pay by credit
card, or some other rapid payment system.
One of the advantages of the system is that the identity of the
winning number will not be known in advance, and providing that the
computer system is isolated from hackers, or from programmers or
operators of the system, the lottery engine can be allowed to run
until all the available numbers have been used up except for the
winning number, the identity of which will only be revealed at the
time of completion of the lottery, and that time will not be known
by the operator, until at least (2n-1) entries have been made, and
more likely many more entries than this. This means that for a set
of numbers n, the potential revenue (excluding operating costs, and
any charges of the 0900 system payable to the carrier) will be at
least $(2n-1).times. entry price, and could well be much more if
some numbers are chosen many times over by different
participants.
In another aspect the invention provides a computer system
including computer hardware and appropriate software to run the
transaction engine and the lottery engine in accordance with the
method outlined above, and means for allowing the automated input
of information to the lottery engine.
Preferably the transaction engine is separate from the lottery
engine and passes registered entries sequentially to the lottery
engine.
Preferably to input to the transaction engine involves entries via
a telephone keypad via SMS from mobile phones, via emails, via
entries direct to a website, or entries direct to a kiosk or
computer terminal at a retail outlet, and less preferably by mail
(as this would involve scanning of the entry or human input of the
entry and reduces the ability to provide an instantaneous or rapid
response to the entrant confirming the details of the entry).
In another aspect the invention provides a computer program for
conducting a lottery in which participants are invited to select at
least one number from a defined range of "n" numbers, and to
register their selection with a computer running the program, the
program adapted to record at least the identity or contact details
of the participant, the number selected by the participant, and to
separately record the number of times each number within the range
of "n" numbers is chosen by participants, the program allowing the
competition to run until all but one of the numbers have been
selected two or more times, and only one number remains having been
selected by only one participant, with that final number being
declared the winning number.
INVENTIVE STEP
The invention as claimed allows a lottery to operate using a
totaliser system--the total prize pool depends upon the number of
entries, and in its simplest form the competition will not close
until at least 2n-1 entries have been received where n is the total
of the numbers to be chosen. Interference or fraud is minimised as
the outcome is determined by the interaction between the
participant's entries rather than the drawing of a ticket or the
selection of numbered balls or the like. It also allows entries to
be made remotely e.g. by telephone or email without the need for a
pre-printed ticket.
DRAWINGS
These and other aspects of this invention, which will be considered
in all its novel aspects, will become apparent from the following
description, which is given by way of example only, with reference
to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 illustrates a table of ten numbers taken out of a potential
group of n numbers, a time t1.
FIG. 2 we show a snapshot of the same group of numbers at time
t2.
FIG. 3 we show a snapshot of the same group of numbers at time
t3.
FIG. 4 we show a snapshot of the same group of numbers at time t4,
when a winner number is declared.
FIG. 5 is a basic overview of the transaction process, whether or
not the entry comes via a telephone landline, or by an Internet
entry, or some other means.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart for an interactive voice recognition system
enabling a person to enter the lottery through their telephone.
FIG. 7 is a horse race simulation, based on a lottery of ten
numbers, showing the processing screen prior to starting.
FIG. 8 shows the same screen after 15 entries, before a winner has
been declared.
FIG. 9 shows the screen when the lottery has been completed, and a
winner declared. In this case horse number 1 is the winner.
FIG. 10 is the call log showing the date and time of the different
entries.
BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a table of ten numbers taken out of a potential
group of n numbers, in this example the numbers from 1 to
1,000,000. The numbers 1300 to 1310 are shown in the first column
and the number of hits against each number are recorded in the next
five columns. In FIG. 1 the hits are recorded with a x.
This figure does not show the order in which the caller information
is transmitted, or received by the lottery engine it is simply a
snapshot of those numbers at a particular point in time during the
lottery process.
As will be explained below, numbers are buffered as they are
entered by each participant and then fed sequentially to the
lottery engine from an appropriate PIPO (first-in-first-out)
stack.
It will be noted that several of these numbers have been chosen by
more than one participant, and thus for the purpose of the first
division prize they will be excluded from the pool of available
lottery numbers, although the participants will not be notified of
this, at any stage during the lottery.
In FIG. 2 we show a snapshot of the same group of numbers at a
later time, where a number of entries y have been recorded against
the various numbers. It will be noted that some of the numbers
which had previously been excluded (for example numbers 1301, 1304,
1306 and 1310), have been chosen by additional participants.
Number 1300, which was a potential winner in the snapshot shown in
FIG. 1, has now been excluded in the snapshot of FIG. 2. FIG. 2
shows that number 1303 is a potential winner, although number 1305
is still a blank entry (no participant has chosen this number),
By snapshot 3 of FIG. 3, the entries z, have for example been
applied against numbers 1304, 1305 and 1310. Numbers 1304 and 1310
have previously been excluded (or in other words they are no longer
remaining in the potential pool of numbers for the first division)
but number 1305 has now moved from a blank number to the potential
pool of winning numbers and joins number 1303 in this pool.
Snapshot 4 in FIG. 4 shows the sequence of the last three entries
labelled A, B and C in order to show the sequence. Entry A is
recorded against number 1300 and is thus not relevant to the
process. Entry B is recorded against number 1309, which had also
previously been excluded from the pool of first division numbers,
and hence is not relevant to the process. However entry C is the
second selection of number 1305 and this excludes 1305 from the
pool of potential winning numbers leaving only number 1303 as the
only remaining potential winning number, in the first division
pool, and thus number 1303 can be declared the winner and the
process can be stopped. In fact it is preferred that the lottery
engine will refuse to accept any further entries at this point, and
will declare the winning entry.
Where the transaction engine receives voice calls or text messages
the receiving number(s) can be taken off-line to prevent any
further entries, or, if the rules permit, subsequent entries can be
directed to the next lottery.
FIG. 5 shows and overview of the transaction process, showing the
remote entry from a number of different sources, through to a
transaction engine, which stores information in a client and
transaction database. It shows that one of the entries could be
from a mobile telephone or from a landline using an interactive
voice recognition system (labelled as "IVR Call Processor"). It
shows a separation between the transaction engine and the lottery
engine. It shows the transaction engine creating a transaction
record, which is then passed to the lottery engine. The accounting
function has been omitted from this flow chart. Once a winner is
found, communication will come from the lottery engine back to the
transaction engine to stop any further bets or defer those bets for
a future lottery. The transaction engine can then call information
on the winning entry from its database, and communicate back via
the appropriate channel to the winner.
FIG. 6 shows a flow chart for a channel based on interactive voice
recognition, and shows a sequence of steps if a caller uses a voice
line from a landline or mobile telephone to enter the competition.
This solution assumes that the customer will have a telephone
betting account which can be topped up from time to time, and which
can be drawn upon to pay for bets. It also has provision for the
user to enter their own number, or to select a lucky dip where the
system will generate a number of random numbers to be entered into
the competition.
FIGS. 7 10 show a simulation of a horse race based on a selection
of any one of ten numbers. FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show the same screen on
a computer monitor, in different stages of the "horse race". This
simulation can be viewed by the operator, but it is unlikely that
this simulation would actually be shown to customers during the
course of the so-called "horse race" otherwise entrants would be
able to know which horse to back. FIG. 7 shows the screen at the
start, FIG. 8 shows the screen after 15 entries have been made, and
at this time horses 1, 3, 6, 8 and 9 are in the race as possible
winners. All other horses have been scratched from the race. Horse
number 6 which is recorded as "no jockey" in this simulation is
still a valid entry. In FIG. 9 the race has been completed, horse 6
has now been chosen 7 times, and is thus out of the race. Only
horse 1 remains with a single hit, and thus is the winner. From the
last screen shown in FIG. 9 it is apparent that horse 8 was neck
and neck with horse 1 until horse 8 was chosen a second time at
which point it was eliminated from the competition and horse 1
declared the winner.
This is also apparent from FIG. 10 which shows the call log,
showing the sequence of calls as they come in based on the date and
time stamp, showing that horse 8 was chosen a second time and at
that point horse 8 was eliminated from the race leaving only horse
1 as the winner.
EXAMPLE 1
In this example it is assumed that all numbers from 1 1299 and all
numbers from 1311 1,000,000 had already been excluded, by more than
one participant selecting each of those numbers.
When we say that a number is excluded from the potential winning
pool, we propose that this information is not publicised, and that
all the processing, is kept confidential by the lottery engine,
other than the possibility of some form of statistics being
published, for example the lottery engine might define the size of
the potential pool of winning numbers, indicating the quantity (but
not the identity) of any numbers that have been chosen less than
two times or not chosen at all. By publicising this information, at
defined intervals or perhaps even having a countdown, participants
may be encouraged to enter the competition in the final stages, as
they select or try to guess a number that has not been chosen by
anyone else.
Instead of recording the number of entries in the form of a
spreadsheet (which we have used simply for the purpose of
illustration) it is envisaged that the lottery engine will utilise
at least two database files, the first file recording information
about participants, and the second file storing information about
the pool of potential numbers.
In the case of the second database, it is envisaged that this
database will have at least two fields per record, one being the
number of the record (or in other words a number between 1 and n,
so that the database has n records storing each number in a
separate record), and at least the second field of each record
stores the number of bits against that number. It is envisaged that
this process will involve a simple counter, which can be
incremented each time a particular number for example number 1306
in FIG. 4 is chosen by a participant, in this case number 1306 was
chosen by five separate participants, so that this field will be
incremented until it shows five hits. By this means it is possible
for the database to have a complete list of all of the available
numbers in the lottery, and show the number of times they were
chosen. In its simplest form, the lottery engine could cheek the
entire database, and select only those records that returned an
entry in the count field of less than two (i.e. zero or one) and
then return a report of how many numbers fall into category zero
and how many fall into category one. The competition could then be
allowed to continue, and the database sampled again until this
number had reduced.
In the example shown in FIGS. 1 4, the competition continues until
the records continuing count zero had disappeared, and the records
containing count one are reduced to a single record which is then
declared to be the winning number.
EXAMPLE 2
It is possible to vary the rules of the competition to stop the
competition after a defined number of entries have been recorded,
or after a defined time, or after some other event, and the
database then analysed to apportion the pool of prize money (less
any operating expenses or profits for the promoters) between the
numbers chosen.
It is also possible that the system may be cut off at a particular
date or time, and then run in a "virtual mode" live on television
so the winner is technically selected on the spot. This would allow
people to watch the process happen on live television.
One way this could be done would be to stop any other entries from
participants, and to use a random number generator to populate the
numbers, until all but one number was eliminated from the
competition. That would enable the count down process to be
observed, and maintain the random nature of the competition, whilst
allowing the competition to run until there was a single winner.
Other variations are possible. This "virtual mode" has the
advantage that the computer could use a random number generator and
generate a large number of hits, so that the process could be
completed within a defined "television window" so that it fitted
within time frame was allowed for the competition. In watching
simulations of the invention, with a random number generator, many
numbers are eliminated really quickly at the start of the
competition, but the entire process slows down as the system comes
closer and closer to only a few numbers remain the competition as
potential winners. This would enable the competition to run on a
weekly basis in a similar fashion to Lotto, so that the competition
could enable entrants to enter up to perhaps one hour before the
competition is to be "drawn", and the process run in virtual mode
from them on. It would be possible to actually vary the speed or
frequency of the hits so that the process could actually be
controlled to match the viewers expectations, and the suspense
could be drawn out until there was only two numbers remaining, and
then . . . a winner is declared.
For example it may be sensible then to exclude all of the records
returning a count zero (not having been chosen by anyone) look then
at the number of records returning a count one and to declare those
numbers division one winners, and to apportion the prize money
between them, or to allow for a number of separate divisions, for
example division one made up of the records returning count one,
division two made up of records returning count two and division
three made up of records returning count three, and so on
However the difficulty with his approach is that unlike normal
lottery, there may be a large number of numbers with count one, if
the competition is stopped too early. If the competition is allowed
to continue for at least 2n entries, then the number of prize
winners in division one will be reduced significantly, but then the
number of prize winners in division two (if this is made up of
count two) will be very large, with the number of potential winners
in division three or division four being significantly smaller.
The difficulty with suggesting divisions three or division four,
based on count three or count four, is that is possible for
participants to influence the outcome. It is very easy for a
participant, or group of participants to knowingly enter the same
number in order to give that a ranking in group three or four or
five, but it is virtually impossible for a group of participants to
collude together and enter numbers that have not been chosen by the
other members of the group, or by any of the other potential
participants, as participants will not normally know the entries
made by other people.
Some participants will try and choose lucky numbers, whilst others
will deliberately try not to choose lucky numbers on the assumption
that other people will be drawn to those numbers. Some people will
choose prime numbers, some will have a preference for odd numbers,
some may choose numbers based on the ages or birthdays of their
family members. Some people will believe that they can ascertain a
pattern in the numbers likely to be selected by a group of
individuals, but so long as a participant maintains his entry
secret, then it will be difficult for another participant to
deliberately attempt to exclude that number by trying to repeat it.
On the contrary, the second or subsequent participant will
endeavour to win by choosing a number that he or she believes will
not have been chosen by anyone else and is unlikely to be chosen by
anyone else during the course of the competition.
EXAMPLE 3
It is preferred that the lottery engine is capable of receiving
information from participants preferably by telephone, or by email,
or direct keying of numbers at a kiosk, or through a keypad
associated with an interactive digital television, via an SMS
message from a cellphone, or some other mechanism in which the
participant can communicate directly with the interface device used
to accept and then buffer entries prior to them being inserted into
the lottery engine.
For example in the case of an entry via a touch-tone telephone
keypad using an 0900 number, the rules of the competition will have
been advertised, and the participant will know that if they dial
that 0900 number they will be charged a fixed price, perhaps $1 per
entry (this is better than charging on a time basis) and that they
will then be given a brief message, this could simply be a recorded
message that says "cost of entry in this competition is $1 to be
debited against your telephone account, your telephone account
number will be used as your identity number, once you have chosen
your number this will be read back to you, and we will provide you
with a pin number, which you may wish to write down in confirmation
of this transaction."
Note that the system can be designed to accept caller ID, and if
caller ID is switched off, it may then have a recorded message,
which says "Your telephone number has not been recognised. Please
enter your telephone number before proceeding with his competition,
as your telephone number serves to identify you for the purpose of
this competition." "Please now enter a number between 1 and
1,000,000, if you choose a low number you must preface it with
zeros so that your entry comprises seven digits. For example if you
choose the number 7 you must enter 0000007".
The interface mechanism will then read back to the customer their
caller ID; the number they have chosen and their serial number or
pin number. This serial number or pin number is preferably a random
number or pseudo-random number which also includes a check sum
derived from their caller ID (or from some other part of the entry,
perhaps a portion of their telephone number and a portion of their
number entry, but in such a way that it is difficult for others to
decipher this). Thus the return message to the participant would be
on the following lines: "Your caller ID is 649 486 7110. "Your
selected number for the competition is 983718. "Your pin number for
this entry is 6793219."
In this example, the last digit 9 is a check sum made up of the sum
of the last four digits of the telephone number (7110).
If a customer fails to record their pin number, and they happen to
win the competition, then the rules of the competition can say that
if the identity of the person at that telephone number is not
confirmed by the appropriate pin number, the prize will be
allocated to the person who pays the telephone account (as that
person's account will have been debited with the cost of entry).
The promoter may wish to vary a rule such as this, in some cases
the promoter may prefer to issue some form of email, or printed or
other receipt. However it is envisaged that the system will best be
used via telephones, or some form of keypad, and whilst it is
preferable that this system be adopted using the 0900 model, or a
charge for SMS messages (in which case it nay be preferable to use
word entries or pseudo-word entries rather than numbers, so that
entries could be made up of any combination of letters or in fact
letters and numbers) the charge can be made to the telephone user's
account using the 0900 system whether the originating call is from
a landline or from a mobile phone).
This voice based entry, which combines the customer using a
landline or mobile telephone to speak with an interactive voice
recognition system is shown in more detail in the flow cart of FIG.
6. In this example it is assumed that the customer will maintain a
telephone betting account, rather than paying via a 0900 number or
b-party billing. In this case the interactive voice recognition
system will prompt the user to respond in a number of ways, and in
the event that the customer wishes to enter their own number it is
preferable that the customer then uses the telephone key pad, as
the system can recognise a touch tone number entry.
EXAMPLE 4
In this example it may be preferable to require participants to
pre-register, for example registering with an entity that allows
for telephone betting such as the TAB (the Totalizer Agency Board
in New Zealand, or in NSW, Australia) and opening a telephone
account, paying money into that account so that the telephone
account can be debited each time the participant enters a new
number. It is unlikely there would be any restriction on the number
of entries per participant, the total cost of entries (and amount
left in the telephone account) being the barrier for the number of
times that participant has entered the competition. Telephone entry
could then be via a local number or toll free number (1-800
number)
EXAMPLE 5
Entry by email or by logging onto a web-site--the participant may
pre-register and pre-purchase the right to entry (e.g. by paying by
credit card). They can then enter the next competition either by
sending an email in a defined format containing their identity
(email address) and the number they have chosen. The number could
for example be in the header line. The entry engine could respond
by sending an email as proof of entry and issuing a PIN or receipt
number for that transaction. The competition would continue as per
example 1, except that the winner could be notified by email.
EXAMPLE 6
Entry from a mobile phone by the Short Messaging System (SMS) or
the Web Application Protocol (WAP) or other messaging service--in
this case the participant may either pre-register and pre-purchase
the right to entry (e.g. by paying by credit card) or agree to be
part of B-party billing (where the cost of entry is charged to the
customer's mobile phone account). The customer can then enter the
next competition either by sending a message using SMS or other
format containing their identity (mobile phone number which is
typically embedded in the message) and the number they have chosen.
In the case of a SMS message the message could contain only the
number they have chosen--on the preferred assumption that there is
only one number per message (to simplify processing and charging).
The entry engine could then acknowledge the entry and send a
receipt or PIN by return message to the customer's mobile phone.
The competition would continue as per example 1, except that the
winner could be notified by SMS or other messaging protocol, or by
a voice call to that mobile phone number.
EXAMPLE 7
Similarly the customer could be invited to enter the competition at
a Point of Sale (POS) terminal or at an Automatic Teller Machine
(ATM), or at a kiosk, or gaming machine. This assumes that the
merchant operating the POS terminal or the Bank operating an ATM is
legally permitted to conduct such a transaction. At the time of
making a purchase by credit or debit card (or withdrawing finds
from an ATM machine) the customer could be asked if they wanted to
participate in a competition "to win (say) One Million
Dollars--each entry cost one dollar, just punch in a number between
one and one million". If they chose to proceed they could then
punch in the chosen entry on the number keypad of the POS terminal
or the ATE Their entry could be tied to details of their credit or
debit card, so that they could be notified if they are a winner. In
this case the POS terminal or ATM could print details of their
entry and receipt of payment onto their sales or banking
receipt.
This leads to the possibility that if conducting such a lottery
over a point of sale terminal is lawful, then retailers could use
their EFTPOS machines to sell entries to the lottery, and receive a
commission for each entry made through their terminal. The system
would record the terminal of entry, so that the retailer could
receive a commission at the end of the lottery.
An alternative version of this type of EFTPOS entry could be a
product or service promotion in which a s service station chain
could invite customers to enter a give away if they were to
purchase at least say $20 of petrol, allowing them one free entry
to the competition once they have paid for the petrol using a
credit card or EFTPOS card, In fact the credit card or EFTPOS card
could serve as their user identity, as part of the purchase
transaction and as part of the entry transaction, so that the user
having entered a number of their choice through the EFTPOS
terminal, or having asked the EFTPOS terminal to select a number at
random could have that entry stored against their EFTPOS card, or
credit card number. This would enable the lottery promoter to then
notify the customer via their credit card or EFTPOS statement, or
even with the permission of their credit card or EFTPOS merchant,
tag their file so that the next time they use their credit or
EFTPOS card for a payment transaction the EFTPOS terminal could
communicate to the customer that they had won a prize in that
particular give away, and need to return to a service station,
preferably the service stations where they entered, to collect
their prize.
EXAMPLE 8
In a computer simulation of this invention using a random number
generator to simulate the entries and entry cost of $1.00 per
number chosen for a first division pay out of $1000.00 where
contestants are assumed to have chosen a number between one and one
thousand, the total take is usually between $5000.00 and $7000.00.
Analysis of the simulation shows that most numbers are chosen at
least 3 times and some as many as 10 times.
EXAMPLE 9
An internet style lottery based on this invention to rival the
Irish Sweepstake or other large National Lotteries could have
entries at say US$10.00 for each number chosen from a pool of ten
million numbers, say the range from 1 to 10,000,000. A first prize
of US$100 Million, a second prize of US$10 Million (for the runner
up--the person who had chosen number 1305 the first time but was
eliminated by entrant C when 1305 was chosen for the second time
and allowed 1303 to be the first division winner). A third prize of
US$5 Million could be awarded to entrant C (the person who
eliminated number 1305, and caused the competition to close). Other
smaller prizes of say US$10,000.00 could be awarded to every
100,000.sup.th entry (a prize pool of 100.times.US$10 k=US$1
Million). This makes a total prize distribution of US$116 Million,
Minimum collection before the competition closes is (2n-1).times.
ticket price=a minimum US$200 Million-US$10.00, but based on our
simulations the estimated collection will be closer to US$500
Million.
EXAMPLE 10
The invention cm also be used for a product or service promotion.
For example a product give away in association with a radio
station. Callers can be invited to choose a unique number between 1
and 100 or 1 and 1000, with prize give aways based on the final
winner using the computer system described above.
EXAMPLE 11
In this example we have chosen a range of ten numbers. FIGS. 7, 8
and 9 show the promoter's screen, which will not be accessible to
participants. It is described as a horse race simulation so that
the system supervisor, or programmer can monitor what happens. The
system corresponds with the basic overview of FIG. 5. However, in
this case n equals 10 and they have been labelled horses 1 through
10. The screen shots in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 are actual screen shots
from a simulation based on a random number generator rather than
actual entries. The log bag been enabled, and the simulation has
been run in slow mode in order to capture the screen shots. The log
of FIG. 10 shows the duration of the process, which is not much
more than one minute, Even with this small size of n=10 the actual
number of hits is quite large, and thus even with a $1 bet cost and
a pay out of $10, the actual gross profit after paying out the $10
prize is $55 as shown on final screen of FIG. 9.
Advantages
The preferred embodiments of this invention making use of remote
entry such as by telephone or email or SMS, enable a lottery system
to be run at low cost, as it does not need to issue pre-printed
tickets or receipts (although simple printed receipts are possible
as in the ATM or POS examples), as the entry and the billing
process can be handled for example through participant's telephone
accounts. The cost of entry can be debited to a participant's
telephone account or they can have pre-registered and built up a
credit with the lottery organiser. This reduces the barrier to
entry to a competition, particularly where the competition may be
televised, as participants may respond directly to a television
advertisement, by entering the competition using their home
telephone or mobile phone. In some cases users may have chosen a
particular number which they have stored on their mobile phone, and
which they use each time they enter a new lottery (by storing such
numbers, it would be foolish to enter more than once in a
particular lottery, as the second entry of that number would void
the participant's chances of a division one win).
By using the caller's telephone number, credit card, email address,
mobile phone number etc., (from the mode of entry) as the
participant's identification, it is also possible for the organiser
or promoter of the competition to quickly contact the winner once a
winning number has been revealed by the lottery engine.
It is also an advantage of the preferred embodiments of this
invention that the final winning number is chosen by the
interaction of the participants various entries cancelling out
entries and not by a selection process that could be the subject of
fraud or interference or built in bias--e.g. the selection of
numbered balls in LOTTO.
In addition the lottery engine itself can be rendered substantially
tamperproof, as participants will not be able to gain direct access
to the lottery engine, as their entries will be received by an
interface device which once having accepted the entry will then
terminate the call (or contact with) the participant, and only then
forward their entry and ID to the stack for processing an entry
into the lottery engine. By this means the outcome of the lottery
will be truly operator independent and thus risk of interference,
or bias on the part of the operator can be minimised if not
completely removed to make their lottery engine free of bias or
distortion that might otherwise be introduced by one or more of the
operators of the system.
Variations
The examples show a single transaction engine and a single lot
engine, Although it is possible to combine both processes in a
single computer we prefer not to do this as it might compromise
security. However, it is possible to have a number of separate
transaction engines feeding data to a common lottery engine. For
example a single high value lottery may be run with contestants
able to enter by a variety of routes at the same time--in which
case an entry by email would be timed stamped, as would an entry by
telephone or ATM, each time stamped entry would be forwarded to the
lottery engine and processed in turn based on each entry's time
stamp. Bach time stamp should also show the identity of the
transaction engine so that when a winning entry (and any other
runner up entries) are determined at the close of the lottery, the
lottery engine can communicate with the relevant transaction engine
to identify the winner(s).
In FIG. 6, showing the IVR flow chart we have included the
possibility that an entrant could allow the system to chose a
"lucky dip" in which the system would generate one or more random
numbers as the persons' entry into the competition. In the claim we
refer to "the participants are invited to select at least one
number" but the participant need not enter the number themselves,
as one option is for the participant to allow the system to use a
random number generator to select the number from a defined range
of n numbers, for that participant.
It will be appreciated that the parameters of the lottery can be
varied in many different ways, for example the potential pool of
numbers 1 to n may be varied depending upon how quickly the lottery
is to be filled up, the size of the likely prize pool, the
potential population having access to the lottery and whether or
not the lottery is to be run in combination with any other
promotions, or whether any spot prizes are to be awarded. For
example spot prizes could be awarded to each ten-thousandth
entrant, or for the participant's place in the queue, as an example
a spot prize might be awarded for the participant number 9999, or
participant 88,888 (to reflect the Chinese preference for the lucky
number 8) or some other group of numbers, reflecting the ethnic mix
of the participants, or the promoters desire to encourage rapid
participation in the lottery.
The lottery need not have a monetary prize but could be used as a
promotional tool to choose the winner or winners of a prize such as
a car, stereo, or other item. In such a case a number of smaller
lotteries night be used, e.g. "choose a number between 1 and
100".
Finally various other alterations or modifications may be made to
the foregoing without departing from the scope of this
invention.
* * * * *
References